


Halfway There

by ingeniousmacabre



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-23
Updated: 2013-04-23
Packaged: 2017-12-09 07:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/771525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingeniousmacabre/pseuds/ingeniousmacabre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From Kansas to Simple Minds, love is complicated. Especially between a nerd and the girl with the earspike. (And she doesn't even wear glasses.) Follow Beca and Jesse as they stack, sort, and fix their feelings for each other at the station, and everywhere else. An extended look at the events in the movie, featuring most other characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day Two at the Station

_Chapter 1: Day Two at the Station_

It's day two, and Beca could not wonder more why she is even sticking around at the station. For a place that plays music round the clock, stacking disordered CD's and arranging vinyl with a total nerd is not exactly very musical.

Sure, this Jesse guy seems okay, if not really goofy, and really  _not_  subtle. Beca isn't sure how to peg him at first; he could be one of those really fantastic actors who seems all sweet and all sticky as candy, but who runs away after getting a piece of the action. Boy, is she familiar with those. Gotta remember not to encourage him.

She enters the station and proceeds out back straightaway, putting on her patented I-don't-give-a-fuck-so-don't-talk-to-me face.

"Hey," Jesse greets her as he reaches up to place a vinyl in the top shelf.

She eyebrows his presence and gives a half-second smile, just to acknowledge, as she slumps her bag on the table and absently reaches for the box of random CD's and other fixables.

"So, you know, if usual greetings aren't your thing, I could totally roll with it. Just say the word, and I will change my daily 'hey' to a bark, a siren, a bird call, if you're into that kind of thing." Beca mentally admires how he is able to keep a straight face while saying that sentence. But she only shoots him a look. Not a particularly threatening one, but more of a reply.

" _Hi_ ," she emphasizes, complete with a mildly plastic smile.

"Ouch," Jesse says, suddenly grasping his heart like someone just staked him. "Your sarcasm is so strong, you know that?"

"Thanks, I got it from my mom." Beca doesn't try very hard to mask her amusement this time. He's a dork; there is no other word for it. Things proceed silently for a beat, before she speaks up so as not to seem like such an ice cold bitch.

"So," she starts. "You're early today."

"Yeah, I didn't have to jog all the way from the labs today. Professor didn't show."

"Really. What a douche."

"Oh, I disagree. I thought that was very nice of him, letting me come here early so that I can greet you when you came in." He gives her that warm smile that he's so good at, and Beca can't help but think that he might be sincere.

Just then, Luke comes out of the booth.

"Great, you're both here. So, I wasn't able to give a basic overview last time because of all the CD's that had piled up, but in any case, I'm doing it today. Since you already know rule number one, several other things you should…"

As Beca and Jesse listen to Luke give a few basics (" _No nudity, parties, or friends over. No beer. No funky stuff._ "), Beca takes note of her fellow intern, taking him in from her periphery. Tall, okay-looking. Alright, so maybe a little more than okay. Plaid. Laid back. Nice arms, though.

As soon as Beca's eyes lock with Jesse's for the briefest of moments, however, Jesse's focused concentration on Luke falls to the wayside to give her a really fast, really sneaky side smile, as though saying  _I knew you couldn't resist giving me a side glance right now._

"Becky?"

"Wha—sorry what was that?"

"I was saying that you don't want to get caught drinking here. There's a door out back, so you never know who'll pop up."

"Got it," she replies. Jesse is just smiling to himself.

"Alright, so I'll leave you two… interns to figure the rest out. Also, Jesse, I'll need you to get my lunch."

"Oh—kay." After a few questioning looks just to make sure Luke wasn't kidding, Jesse takes out a pad and paper.

_Who the hell keeps a pad and paper on them?_  Beca supresses her insultingly incredulous face.

"So, what'll it be, boss?"

"Cheeseburger, always. Double patty, extra large Coke. From the diner near Michael Hall."

"Would you like fries with that?" But Luke had already turned around and is heading back to the booth. Beca is finding it harder to keep suppressing an insulting laugh.

"What?" Jesse turns to her, placing the pen on his ear. She merely shakes her head, lips pursed, determined to hold judgment on this dork until she knows better. Going back to stacking, she feels him smile at her as he turns away to get the first of the many burgers that he would be getting Luke.

...

* * *

By the second week, Beca has fallen into a comfortable routine with her work, studies, and social life, which involves going to work, not going to school, and avoiding as many people as possible. Still upset about having to give up L.A. for a load of crap, she holds on to her music to keep her sane during the hours she decides to skip classes, just for the hell of it.

Going to work gradually became a little more than okay, as she discovers that her fellow intern can keep her partially entertained, all while she is able to maintain a professional cool akin to not giving a shit.

"So, I was thinking, maybe you should, you know, talk this time, especially since for the past week and ever since we've been spending this much alone time together, you have basically ignored me," Jesse tries one Tuesday. Just when she doesn't reply, the ambient radio noise suddenly plays a tune that Beca happens to love.

Jesse, being more familiar with Beca's nonchalance, immediately notices her swaying ever so slightly at the "Ho, Hey" of the song. So he, of course, starts to hum a bit of the verse from behind one of the shelves.

_I've been trying to do it right. I've been living a lonely life…_

If Beca had initially thought this guy was such a nerd and totally queerballs, she seems to forget about her previous judgment as she sees him humming about his business, oblivious to the fact that he has caught her attention by going along with the tune. She tries not to stare.

_I don't know where I belong. I don't know where I went wrong…_

Luke pops his head out of the booth.

"Becky."

"Hey. What's up?" She turns around to face him. She stopped correcting him about her name by now.

"I got your message, by the way. You can take leave tomorrow. Just letting you know."

"—Kay. Cool. Thanks."

With a nod and a smile, Luke's back inside. Just when Beca is collecting her thoughts back to work, she hears the lead singer of the song a little bit louder than she anticipates.

" _I don't think you're right for him. Think of what it might have been, if you. Took a bus to Chinatown—_ " Jesse suddenly sings from behind one of the shelves. Beca is immediately taken aback, though she shows less than half of her amusement. His voice is pure gold. She had no idea. She watches him while absent-mindedly placing and replacing a random stack of CD's somewhere on the table.

" _She'll be standing next to me_ ," Jesse tunes. His voice,  _my god…_

His gaze meets hers come the chorus.

" _I belong with you, you belong with me, my sweetheart_ ," Jesse smiles at her, not really wanting to ruin the moment. He does nothing more than sing and swing to the beat.

Somewhere, down at the bottom of her stomach, she feels flattered. Oh come on, who wouldn't? She tries hard not to show more than mild amusement, but she is seriously fascinated by this young man in front of her, stacking CD's and singing with a voice that made goosebumps on her skin.

When he gets a little more animated and starts swinging more than necessary, Beca decides that this man is  _not_ a possible asshole/drunkard/serial killer. He is 100%, pure, wholesome weirdo, no preservatives added. People like him have their own little world, and Beca will do her best to steer clear away from his future shenanigans.

" _I belong with you, you belong with me, my sweet_ ," Jesse finishes with a huge smile and meaningful eyes directed at her. She shakes her head at him.

"So, I take it you like The Lumineers," he quips as he goes back to the table to get more CDs.

"They're cool," she tries for nonchalance. She's not sure if she accomplished it. If he thought she's trying too hard, he doesn't show it.

"You need help with that random pile of CDs you happen to stack on top of each other?"

"No, no. I got it," she says, confident as hell and returning his smile, as she gathers up her stack, along with her pride, and goes to a shelf where she can self-meditate and collect the cool she left all over the floor when he started singing the song to her.

_At me. No, not even. He was just singing,_ a small voice carried on her inner musings.

...

* * *

_The lights are on, but you're not home…_

It's the following Thursday, and Beca grooves to the smooth sound of Florence + The Machine as she hears them through her massive headphones while rolling the tray of vinyl and CDs along. She doesn't notice Jesse come in and watch her from behind, a grin spread across his face as she subconsciously sways her hips to the extremely catchy "Addicted to Love".

Which is why, when she turns around, she nearly jumps out of her skin at the sight of a grinning Jesse.

"Fuck! How long have you been there?" She quickly composes herself as she lowers her headphones. Nothing to be embarrassed about.  _He's just a nerd, no worries. You were just dancing by yourself, so what? No one cares._

"Me? Oh no, I just got here." He doesn't even hide the goofy grin he has as he bites his lower lip out of complete and utter amusement. He makes no move to get to work, just stands there.

"Yeah, well, get to work, dork," she counters defensively, suddenly aware of her CD-stacking movements. She doesn't put her headphones back on, she just lets the music play. She is not about to be caught off guard like that again. He joins her, and they stack silently for a while, even though he is evidently holding back a grin.

"That's some really great hip movement you got there."

"Shut up."

He is silent for a beat, but he just can't resist.

"So you take classes for that or—"

"I swear to god, I will punch you."

"Okay, whoa. Easy, Hillary baby."

"Don't call me 'baby'," she stops to glare, dead serious. He opens his mouth for an explanation, but her massive headphones suddenly start leaking Adele's  _Skyfall._

"Oh hey!" he points to her headphones. "You have the new track. Have you seen?"

She is completely lost. "Seen what?"

Just then, Luke comes out with a new box of things that should be in their proper places. Beca's eyes are drawn to the fact that this heavy box is flexing Luke's muscles a little more than she would like to notice. She also notices Jesse, who, from her periphery, seems to notice her appreciation for Luke's workouts, whatever that is.

"Hey man, you need help with that?" Jesse asks, just as Luke is about place the box on the far end of the table, the cleaner end.

"No, I've got it. So, this is a new box of junk that you guys will have to..."

Jesse can't help but shift his attention between what Luke is saying, and how Beca is looking at him. He's not that hot… maybe hotter than him, but so what? Beca's not into him, is she? Wait,  _is she_? He tries to see if anything about Beca would tell him otherwise.

"Jesse? Did you get that?" Luke says as Jesse snaps his gaze away from Beca.

"Yeah, crystal. Got it."

"Alright," Luke answers, unconvinced. "You guys are some of the stranger ones I've gotten." He goes back inside the confines of his booth, but not before noticing Beca's exposed shoulder with the tattoo.

"Nice tat."

"Thanks," Beca says after him. She turns her attention to Jesse, who happens to be missing his usual stellar smile. She noticed he was staring at her while Luke was talking. Which wasn't creepy, like at all, sarcasm intended. They get to the box filled with work.

"What's up with you?" she asks him after reaching for the first one.

"Huh, what?"

"You were kind of staring at me. It's creepy."

He pauses his work and looks at her straight, all too serious.

"That's because I find you insanely beautiful."

They stand in silence for a moment, before she makes an incredulous face at him, and he let's out a burst of laughter. It's moments like these, these little understandings between them, that makes him love spending time with her.

She makes a face to show her disbelief, because, really. She doesn't believe him, his silly little sarcasms. Even though sometimes, when he pulls off something like this, she wants to.


	2. Intro to Philosophy

_Chapter 2: Intro to Philosophy_

Week three, and Beca is slowly losing the will to live. Most especially when Kimmy Jin's alarm goes off at six in the morning for god-knows-what.

*Ring*

_Oh come one. No one is awake at six in the morning. No one._

Beca tries to bury her head in a mass of pillow.  _Goddamnit_.

Mornings are the abominable after-effects of the earth's rotation around the sun. Beca knows this. But she doesn't care, because she'd rather the world stop spinning, like,  _right now._ She also wants Kimmy Jin's alarm to stop. She wants a lot of things, but most of all, she wants to go right back to sleep. The morning can go to hell.

* * *

She's not able to get back to sleep that morning, which is what makes her professor call her out during her Intro to Philosophy class later.

"Ms. Mitchell?"

Beca doesn't answer, because Beca doesn't hear. Beca is dwindling between sleepyzone, twilight zone, and all the other zones except the one where she's paying attention. Her elbows leaning on the desk, forehead leaning on her palms as her hair covers most of her face, anyone would think she's in deep concentration about Heidegger, except for the fact that her earphones are leaking.

" _Ms. Mitchell!_ "

"Jeez—" Beca starts, nearly hitting her head on the desk. The class giggles a bit. She blinks, a bit droopy-eyed, before realizing she's in an actual class. With actual people. And the actual professor asking her a legitimate question.

"Here's another chance. What was Heidegger trying to say in the text, Ms. Mitchell?"

The asshole. He knows she was sleeping.

"As I was saying… It was Jesus."

The class full-on bursts in laughter. She smiles.  _Oh shit._

"Ms. Mitchell, you might think you're 'privileged' (he stresses out this word) in this university, but you will be surprised to find out that Barden professors sometimes do care about their students learning."

Beca slumps lower in her chair.

"If you cannot be bothered to listen to class during such times as a long oral exam, then perhaps it would suit you better to simply leave, and not come back."

 _Well, this is shit_ , Beca thinks to herself. Her classmates go silent. This is serious shit right here, and Beca is in no mood to apologize to anyone except herself for accepting this stupid idea in the first place.

"Fine," she retorts, as she gathers her things and goes. As soon as she's out of the classroom, she heaves a heavy sigh, pissed off and less agreeable than usual. Which means she's not agreeable at all.

For some reason, she goes straight to the station. Her work doesn't start until after her Philo class, but she's more than willing to get there and finish her work ahead of time. No people, no distractions, because no shit, she is not in the mood to have any form of social interaction today.

She puts on her headphones and drowns the world out as she listens to La Roux for the nth time, viciously going about her work as if each misplaced CD symbolized how she's really not supposed to be at Barden.

…

Jesse comes in at his usual time (albeit a little late), when Beca is gathering up her things to go. She has left almost no work for him to do.

"Woah there, Mary Poppins. Hold up," he says, looking about as if she just robbed the place empty. Beca stops in front of him, impatient and grumpy-looking. Jesse is standing in her way, and she swears, if he doesn't move in about two seconds…

"Have you just gotten in touch with that side of you that loves stacking CDs?" Beca rolls her eyes. He goes on, moving aside to go to the desk. "I mean, I knew this day would come, I just didn't know how intense your passion was for this—"

"Can we not do this right now?" Beca rubs the bridge of her nose. Her backpack in on her back, she's ready to leave. She should totally turn on her heels and go. But of course, that would be ice queen, cold bitch of her to do. He at least deserves a 'see you later'.

"Look man, I'll see you when I see you," she says, walking backwards to the entrance right before she turns around.

Jesse had immediately picked up the bitter scent of anger and disappointment the moment he had seen her not thirty seconds ago. She looks heavy, tired, and though he tried to make light of it, she is obviously having none of that today. So he drops the last stack on the desk and walks after her.

"Hey Beca. Bec—" he calls after her.

"What do you want?"

To be honest, Jesse doesn't really know either. So he doesn't know what to say the moment she turns around. But thank god for Beca's leaky headphones.

His gaze drops to the sound from around her neck, and he immediately catches the tune.

" _I don't wanna hurt you, but I need to breathe_ ," he whispers at first.

"Sorry, what?"

" _At the end of it all, you're still my best friend—"_  he sings out loud as he backs away slowly, dramatically, to the tune of Beca's leaky headphones.

Beca's face contorts in half-attempt to hide her WTF face and her amused face.  _What does he think he's doing? He's insane. He's totally lost it._

"You are insane," she calls out, looking absolutely incredulous and partly amused at watching him sing all out. She can't help but shake her head and look totally mortified and confused and  _dude, what in the actual fuck?_

" _But there's something inside, that I need to release._ "

She's smiling now, but she shakes her head and tries harder to look unaffected. Jesse does this kind of thing all the time, and she usually has the nerves and the dignity to look cool about it, but right now…

"Look man, I really gotta go, but it's nice to see you drunk like this," she finally gives up.  _Ugh. Nerd._ (But she is smiling, of course.)

Jesse finally stops mid-chorus. Well, he tried. He smiles to himself, and goes back to stacking the last pile.  _At least she left smiling_ , he thinks to himself.

...

* * *

" _You gotta get out there, Bec. You gotta try something."_

The words of her father echo in her mind as she goes to the station that fourth week.

"Hey," Jesse greets. Like any other day, she doesn't reply. But today, she doesn't even look at him or acknowledge his existence; she goes right to the stack, head deep in thought about the implications of her father's talk.

"What's gotten into you today? Not feeling like showing your appreciation for my existence?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry." She realizes she's been rude, and she smiles at him.

"Something wrong?"

"No, nothing. It's just… this stupid thing and, like…" she debates about how far she should open up about this. It's not like she has anyone else to talk to. Jesse stops everything and has his full attention to her.

"Okay, should I give it a shot?" she asks in all seriousness.

Jesse's eyes narrow, and he has absolutely no idea what she is talking about, but hey. He can roll with this.

"I would ask you," he starts, continuing with his work, "about what it is you are shooting for, but I'm not going to. I'm just gonna say yes. Definitely." He says, mildly pleased with his answer.

She nods. Time for some fun.

"Yeah, you know what, you're right. I should totally ask Luke out," she deadpans. Jesse accidentally drops a huge pile of CDs there and then, and Luke comes out of the booth at the sound.

"Hey, what's that ruckus?"

Beca is, by now, not even trying to hide how much she is enjoying this.

"Oh, nothing," she adds, almost laughing, as she bends down to help Jesse. "Nothing, Luke! Sorry, Jesse here's just a bit clumsy today."

It's Jesse's turn to shoot her a look. She is still holding back a laugh.

"Jesse, please try to avoid breaking anything. Those are expensive and hard to replace," Luke admonishes as he goes back in the booth. As soon as the door closes, Beca spurts out a giggle.

"Excuse me, satan," Jesse says as he stands up with a pile of CDs, "but I have to fix this."

Beca hasn't smiled or laughed that much since she got to Barden. In turn, Jesse finds himself smiling as well, despite how mortifying those moments were to him. (Seriously, that was scary shit. Beca asking Luke out? Jesse would rather have the universe  _not,_ thanks very much.)

It's nice to see Beca have some fun, though. He should make her go out and do something fun one of these days.


	3. See You at Auditions

_Chapter 3: See You at Auditions_

_"See you at auditions."_

Chloe had called out to her. Aside from the mentally scarring bathroom run-in, Beca is seriously considering this. After a few days getting over her initial no-way-in-fucking-hell phase, she starts to weigh the decision.

Her father had told her to take a chance in college. To be fair, she does seem to be missing out on a lot of… whatever it is that everyone else seems to love about this place. She knows she's purposefully secluding herself, and it's been a month.

Jesse told her to go for it.

 _What? No. Why is he even in the equation?_ She shakes her head at the thought.

A combination of factors (among which are Kimmy Jin's alarm clock, her annoying professors, and some rude frat guys) convinces her that, on the audition day, she isn't going.

Yup, she's not going to audition.

Nevermind that she and Chloe sounded awesome ( _perhaps it was the acoustics_ , she thought.  _Everyone sounds better in the showers_ ) or that she needed to go out there. Or that Jesse had told her yes.  _Wait, again, why is he even in the picture?_

But in any case, she makes up her mind not to go to the audition later that afternoon. She stacks CD's and vinyl purposefully now, knowing that finally, she has come to a conclusion that she is satisfied with…

"Hey there, weirdo," Jesse calls out as he slings his bag on his shoulder. "I'll catch you tomorrow?"

"Oh?" She's suddenly curious. "Where you headed?" It's barely half past their stacking time, and he's already on his way out.

"Gotta practice for something. Auditions for the a capella groups later," he replies, then he pauses and gets a bright idea.

"Hey! You know what? You should come with!"

Her look is incredulous, and it's something he's used to, something he isn't deterred by anymore. She looks like he just suggested the most ridiculous thing in the world, but of course, her mind is going  _Oh my god. I just decided on this. What the hell._

Jesse slumps his bag off his shoulders just to show that he's going to stay here and try to convince her.

"I'm serious, Beca. Okay, listen," he tells her. He is about to launch into one of his famous tirades, and she obliges him. (It is important to note that the word "oblige", to Beca Mitchell, means rolling her eyes and glancing up in semi-regular intervals in order to show the tiniest bit of interest.)

"I think that you might actually have a bit of hidden musical talent—wait no, come on, just hear me out for a sec. Just come to the auditions with me."

"Dude, no."

"Why not?"

"Because!" Beca tries to search her head for an answer. "Because a capella is lame."

Jesse puts on  _such_  a hurt face. *Gasp!*

"Oh, so  _I'm_  lame? Is that what you're saying?"  _He is such an annoying dork,_ she smiles to herself, raising an eyebrow at his Oscar-winning performance. He's kind of laughing now.

"Come on, just say so. If you think I'm lame, and not cool enough for you—" he continues in mock seriousness, and he's totally getting to her. He can see her eyes crinkle.

"No, drama queen, you are just so, super awesome, I can't even stand the sight of you. It just makes me feel bad that I can never be half the man that you are."

"Really? That so?"

"That's totally how it is."

"Right."

"Right."

"Right, okay," Jesse says, picking his bag up again and smiling at her. "So I'm just gonna go, get a mop for all the sarcasm you dripped all over the floor."

"Yeah, you do that."

"Alright," he says, backing away and about to leave. "But if you change your mind, just so you know, I'm sticking around till the end of auditions, just so I can hear you blow the judges away with your amazing range and your…" he swings his hips a bit, "… amazing moves."

She throws a CD at him, which accidentally lands with a clatter at a distant pile, catching the attention of Luke from inside the booth.

"Hey…"

"It was his fault," Beca says as Luke pops his head out of the booth while Jesse makes a run for it. She's still grinning to herself as she goes back to stacking. It takes her the rest of the time to actually realize that she had absolutely no reason  _not_ to go to the auditions…

No big deal. She'll just drop in, see what it's all about, drop back out. No commitments. What could go wrong? So with that, she leaves the station and heads straight for the auditorium.

But of course, she just really wants to hear Jesse sing his pipes out.


	4. Since U Been Gone

_Chapter 4: Since U Been Gone_

" _But if you think this is just some high school club, where you can sing and dance your way through any big social issue, or confused sexuality, you have come to the wrong place. There is none of that here."_

Jesse takes it all in. He's been waiting for this day since day one in college, and he is absolutely excited for it all. He's never one to have been shy about singing, but at the same time, this is college, man. It's fucking college. He doesn't know how to feel, his nerves are mixing with the energy, and he's pretty stoked.

He just wishes he had been more successful at convincing Beca to come with.

Jesse thinks back to Beca earlier. She loves music, that much he can tell. But she'd seemed pretty surprised that he would ask her to come to the auditions with him. Then again, she is Beca. He wouldn't be surprised if she thought eating food was lame.

" _Hey Bellas, remember when you tried to play in the big leagues and you choked_?..."

 _The leader of the Trebles is an ass,_ Jesse thinks. Now he sees part of the reason why Beca must not like people. But he hopes she likes him.

He notices her little quirks beyond her usual chilling persona, whenever he'd try to make conversation or pull off a stunt. She would sometimes show cracks, like when she's trying really hard not to smile, or when she'd come back with a clever retort. But mostly, it's when she pays attention to him when he sings, even though she doesn't show it. It's the tiniest of encouragements when he's trying to win her over, but with Beca, he'll take what he can get. She seems like she could use his goofiness, based on her over-all aura of death, and Jesse was never one to hold back on something he could do for a friend.

A friend. Huh. Oh well.

" _My fellow a-ca-people: We will not let egotistical, big-headed, garbage dirtballs, whoever you may be, get in our way_ …"

Jesse makes a face of approval at the sheer ballsiness of this Bella leader. Benji can't help but agree. This woman's got testicles.

One after the other, they are called up on stage, and when it's Jesse's time, he does a quick scan around the room, hoping for a familiar face.

 _Oh well. It was worth a shot_ , he thinks, as he gets up on stage.

* * *

Beca had not really been in a hurry to walk over to the auditorium. She figures that if it's meant to be, she'll get there, and there will still be people. Not being familiar with the place, she enters from backstage, as she hears a familiar name being called up.

"Jesse Swanson? Any 'Jesse here'?"

"Right here, man." She hears his footsteps going up the stage as she stands in the shadows, careful to keep herself hidden.

"Alright, good luck." The announcer exits.

And then, there it was, this strange beat thing that Jesse had to do. Beca figures out the song before she's even heard the first word, and she knows that there is no way in hell that she can pull off a Clarkson. That's just not her style or range. She listens to Jesse sail through the first verse and she can't help but feel her ears melting into butter. She takes a peak into the audience, pleased to see that they share her sentiment.

" _That's all you'd ever hear me say_ …"

Beca can't help but cringe, anticipating the worst for the chorus.

" _Since you been gone_ … it's high.  _I can't breathe for the first time_. Jesus."

Beca's eyes widen, as Jesse reaches the high notes, though not effortlessly. Still, for a guy to be able to sing that? _Pretty fucking amaze-balls_ , Beca thinks. She shakes her head to herself.  _Of course he would reach that. He can sing. This man can really sing._

" _Out of sight, out of mind…"_ he continues. Some sort of competitive streak awakens in Beca, and she suddenly finds herself wanting to outdo whatever it is that Jesse just pulled off. Of course, she knows she can't. Not in a million years. But still, it would be nice to suddenly surprise him with a guest appearance. Maybe show him that she's got a couple of tricks up her sleeve as well. She contemplates this, even after the last one up has finished, and most everyone has left.

"Okay, that is everybody. I'm really not impressed this year, guys."

Decidedly, she picks up her nerves and emerges from the shadows. Chloe is the first one to see her.

"Oh, wait, there's one more," Chloe adds.

* * *

Jesse had been prepared to leave, were it not for the fact that he had left his sweater in the auditorium. As he goes back for it, he hears someone say there was one more.

"Hello. Umm, I didn't know we had to prepare that song."

Jesse stops at that unmistakable voice. He starts walking back towards the auditorium.

"That's okay," he hears Chloe say, "Sing anything you want."

He stops by the far side of the auditorium, at the exits. She showed up. Beca actually showed up. He mentally chastises himself for not actually keeping to his word and staying all the way up to the end of the auditions. He could've missed her.

He sees her just as she empties a plastic cup of a random stack of pens.  _What is she up to?_

Since they were all required to make a beat during the auditions, Beca is now making a beat. With a plastic cup. Sitting on the floor of the stage, clapping and tapping away.

Jesse is entranced.  _Can this woman get any more fascinating?_

" _I've got a ticket for the long way round._

_Two bottles of whiskey for the way._

_And I sure would like some sweet company_

_And I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say."_

Jesse feels shivers run through his back as Beca's strong voice pierces the silent harshness of the auditorium. He can see the Trebles whispering to themselves, and the rest of the room is in quiet concentration at Beca's display of raw talent. The Bellas are especially focused.

" _You're gonna miss me by my hair, you're gonna miss me everywhere, oh I know you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."_

Clap clap, tap tap, clap tap tap.

Beca's face looks bored, but the Trebles are nodding, the Bellas are smiling (well, half of them), and Jesse's mind is reeling from a revelation.

_The girl I like can sing. She can really sing._

His mind sparks in a million little fireworks, but all he manages to utter is "Wow."


	5. Hood Night

_Chapter 5: Hood Night_

" _And I solemnly promise to never have sexual relations with a Treblemaker, or may my vocal chords be ripped out by wolves._ "

Well, that was something.

It's late night, and they're on their way to a-ca-initiation to get drunk and party with the other groups, right after swearing to never bed the Trebles. But that was after drinking the blood of the Bellas who came before.

_The fuck did I get myself into._

But Beca just goes with it. She's not the type to back down at a challenge. Still, it would help if the people, place, and circumstances were a little less insane. It would be ideal to be around normalcy around here, but apparently, Barden must have a policy against those things.

"Prepare to soften the beach," Aubrey says, as the new baby Bellas get to the amphitheater.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," Beca unconsciously says.

"Living the dream," Fat Amy replies. "I still can't believe they let my sexy fat ass in."

Beca knows this probably isn't the best place for her. She could be working on her mixes right now, doing other fun things. Hell, she could be in L.A. But a sudden voice out of nowhere snaps her back to attention.

"Beca! Beca!"

"Wow," Beca muses. This guy keeps showing up everywhere, doesn't he? She sees him climb the steps, calling out what seems to be, yes, a birdcall version of her name.

"Be-caw! Bec—" he finishes, his eyes softening at the sight of her.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or are you a Barden Bella?

"No."

"You're one of those a capella girls, I'm one of those a capella boys, and we're gonna have a-ca-children. It's inevitable."

Beca knows he's probably not had that many beers, but she also knows he's probably not had that many beers  _in his life,_ which would account for him going all not-so-subtle yet again.

"You okay? Yeah? You almost fell over? Can you pass the sobriety test right now? Can you stand up straight?"

She mock pushes him around, obliging him, since he is clearly out of his wits as of the moment.

"Can I get you a drink? I'm gonna get you a drink. I think you need to get on this level," he finally leaves her alone.

"Please be careful," Beca calls after him as he goes down between rows. He clearly needs some sort of chaperone or something. Poor kid.

The rest of the night goes by without any majorly disastrous incidents. Beca is able to avoid over-interaction with strangers, drunk or otherwise, and Jesse, a little tipsy over the cold night air and the cold beer, manages not to trip over the pews. The other Bellas seem to be enjoying themselves, some a little more than others ("Someone's getting T-boned tonight," Fat Amy comments about Kori working Donald like a pole.). Still, it's a change from her usual routine.

When the music plays and Jesse goes over to her with a beer, she notices that he's a bit more fucked over than last they talked, which wasn't more than some minutes ago.

"Gotta keep your head up, oh-oh. I don't know the words, but I can…" he sings as he gives Beca what she hopes is a clean cup of beer. She doesn't know what to make of whatever the fuck it is that she got into. But hey. At least she knows one other person around.

"This is awesome," Jesse remarks to no one in particular.  _Uh-oh. Has he hit the_ —

"We are the kings of campus!" Jesse screams in front of the intoxicated crowd of young adults.  _Yes. Yes, he's hit that mark_ , she thinks.

"You done?" she asks. He turns around, smiling and little bit shitballs crazy. He nearly loses his balance, and Beca needs to usher him slowly down to sit. Damned zero-tolerance nerds.

"Thanks, Beca!" he says affectionately. "You're so nice to me."

"Mm-mm. Nope," she says behind the cup of beer.

"Can I get a video of this? You being nice to me?"

"Dude how many beers did you—"

"I had, like, this many," he says, while holding up a Vulcan salute. This makes her laugh.

"I saw your audition, by the way," he tells her.

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"You didn't, cause I was there. And I didn't see you around," Beca adds. It's true, she hadn't seen him around, even though, and this is not really a big deal, he had told her he was going to stick around for her arrival. She had gotten up on that stage and sung, though a little bit disappointed that he wasn't there to see her triumph.

"Just because you didn't see me," he retorts, "doesn't mean that I wasn't there." His pointy finger, aiming for her nose, accidentally pokes her mouth instead, making her grimace. Wow, he really is drunk.

"Alright, Casanova, I think that's enough beer to last you the night." She takes his cup away from him.

"You worried about me, Beca?"

She stops, brows furrowed. She's a little bit surprised at his audacity, but since he's drunk, she will let that one slide. He's looking at her with that puppy face, and it's all she can do to keep from pushing him over the side of the benches.

"Actually yes. Wouldn't want you to get a beer belly now, would we?" she winks at him, and pats at the flab of stomach that his sitting posture is showing. He makes a mental note to never try that again.

"So, I'm gonna get going," she adds, "and I would strongly suggest that you stop drinking."

"Only if I can walk you to your dorm."

"Dude,  _I_ should walk you to  _your_  dorm."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You're that wasted."

"Really?"

"Yeah you are," she adds, laughing at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I miss you already," he calls out as she walks away from the party.  _Damned nerds,_ she thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> To AO3: Posted this at FF already, just thought I'd cover my bases here as well. It's complete, though I will be refining the chapters as I post them here. That is all. I do hope ya'll like it.


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